blackjack minimum?

[myra711]

What's the lowest table stakes on NCL (Gem)? I have only rarely played Blackjack in a casino, when the stakes were low, and would enjoy playing again. Thanks for the info.

[cb at sea]

On most ships, the min. is $5...if it gets really busy and hopping in the casino, they may raise it to $10 or more.

Please know the rules and follow the play recommendations!!!

[myra711]

On most ships, the min. is $5...if it gets really busy and hopping in the casino, they may raise it to $10 or more.

Please know the rules and follow the play recommendations!!!

 

Thanks for the info, and don't worry. I never deviate from the recommended moves.

[ready2travel54]

On most ships, the min. is $5...if it gets really busy and hopping in the casino, they may raise it to $10 or more.

Please know the rules and follow the play recommendations!!!

 

Everybody has to learn sometime. I plan on playing and don't know what you mean by "play recommendations" Can you explain?

I played a couple of times in Vegas with really nice, patient people.

[ready2travel54]

On most ships, the min. is $5...if it gets really busy and hopping in the casino, they may raise it to $10 or more.

Please know the rules and follow the play recommendations!!!

tried to post this before and did not work......

 

Everyone has to start somewhere. I meet some really nice people who helped me learn the game in Vegas.

 

What do you mean "follow the play recommendations" ?

[cb at sea]

Get a basic stratagy card....all of the recommended plays are on there. You can get them online.

[MrCo9]

tried to post this before and did not work......

 

Everyone has to start somewhere. I meet some really nice people who helped me learn the game in Vegas.

 

What do you mean "follow the play recommendations" ?

They mean to follow "Basic Strategy" this gives you the best chance to win based on the expected outcome over thousands or millions of hands. It does not guarantee that you will win, but if you play by these rules you should not piss off too many "Expert Players".

[ready2travel54]

They mean to follow "Basic Strategy" this gives you the best chance to win based on the expected outcome over thousands or millions of hands. It does not guarantee that you will win, but if you play by these rules you should not piss off too many "Expert Players".

I'm trying not to be dense, but why will I piss off expert players if I play stupid and throw my money away....

Does my play affect theirs?

[MrCo9]

I'm trying not to be dense, but why will I piss off expert players if I play stupid and throw my money away....

Does my play affect theirs?

YES it does. But for the better or worse is up for debate. Let's say the dealer is showing a 4, you have a 12 and are the last player to act (AKA 3rd base), you hit and get a 8 to give you a 20, dealer turns over a 10 and hits a 7 for a 21, had you not hit, the dealer would have had 22 and everyone would have won.

 

Same situation, but this time instead of the 7, the dealer gets a 5, you still win, but those players that stayed on their 13s, 14s etc lost when they would have won if you had "not taken the dealer's" 8.

 

Same situation, you take the 8, but the dealer turns over an 8 instead of the 10 and the next card is a 10, if you had not taken the 8, the dealer would have gotten a 20 and beaten most players at the table.

 

How you play your hand affects all other hands IF the dealer has to hit. And it affects all other hands until the dealer shuffles the cards. You make the other players win or lose this hand, but it would take a Cray computer to figure out how it affected all the other hands through the deck/shoe.

 

You maybe Ready to travel, you may not be ready to play table games.

[davecttr]

Of course blackjack is not a team game so the best advice is to play your hand for yourself and don't worry what effect it might have on the other players.

 

Basic strategy information is easily found on line and you can practise at home so when you finally do play you don't make stupid mistakes, at least when you are sober :D

[MrCo9]

blackjack is not a team game

You're half correct. You only win if your hand wins. But, if everyone uses basic strategy and avoids rookie/dumb moves, you can all work as a team and watch the dealer bust in certain situations.

[davecttr]

You're half correct. You only win if your hand wins. But, if everyone uses basic strategy and avoids rookie/dumb moves, you can all work as a team and watch the dealer bust in certain situations.

Hardly likely to happen aboard a cruise ship though, at least over here in the UK. On my last cruise there were only 2 regular players who basically knew what they were doing. I played my hand, sipped my drink and watched the carnage unfold :D The other regular got really stressed with other peoples plays. There was one player betting big but for some unknown reason he kept splitting pairs of tens :confused: He must have paid the staff saleries for the fortnight as he was even splitting on a dealer 9 :)

 

One sea day they had a happy hour in the afternoon and the table minimum was £1, yes, $1.50. No one playing and a bored dealer so OK I said, I will play 2 boxes. He could deal!. After a hour of frenzied play I had lost exactly £2.50 :( This shows that basic strategy can at least lower your losses.

[bluesman0711]

It is aggravating watching a player stand on a 15 with the dealer showing a 10 because they have a feeling. I find it best to color up and leave the table since I can't control their bad play, but I can move to another one.

[ready2travel54]

I was thankful when playing in Vegas that other more knowledgable players would help me. After all it is a game! I wouldn't mind being at a table with you Dave. Now I need to do some practicing.

any good on line places to do that?? I have months before I go and I at least know not to split 2 tens lol

[SailBadtheSinner]

Here's free one at the Wiz of Odds: http://wizardofodds.com/play/blackjack/

that will point out errors in your play.

 

 

SBtS

[davecttr]

I was thankful when playing in Vegas that other more knowledgable players would help me. After all it is a game! I wouldn't mind being at a table with you Dave. Now I need to do some practicing.

any good on line places to do that?? I have months before I go and I at least know not to split 2 tens lol

 

If people ask I don't mind saying stuff like 'I would not do that etc etc' but I am not a expert on the game and only play for recreational purposes when on a cruise.

 

SailBadtheSinner's recommended site is a good one to start with.

 

The general idea with the basic strategy is to practice at home so you automatically know the best play whatever card the dealer is showing. It is like learning multiplication tables at school so you can multiply in your head without thinking, if they still do stuff like that in school? It has been a looong time since I was there :) Of course the strategy does not mean you will win but minimises your losses so if you get a lucky streak you can win a little money. It is a game of chance!.

[AndyTheK]

My personal favorite for practicing all games (except craps - for which I downloaded WinCraps) is http://casino.bodog.com/ ,A lot of pracrice play there has taught me two things - never play Let It Ride for real money and ditto Caribbean Stud.

 

Practice play can teach not only the correct basic strategy, but also what betting patterns work FOR YOU. Another thing I've learned is that there will be times when you simply can't win a hand no matter what you do ("That dealer is MURDERING me!!!")

 

As for others at the table, I'm one of those who don't get emotional about how others play. MtCo9 above gave some excellent examples of what MIGHT happen on any given hand.

 

On cruise ships, we're late diners, so when we finally hit the casino after dinner, many of the "casual curious" have come and gone, and the craps table is open. When I play blackjack rather than craps, it's alongside DW. She's an excellent player (but a little more conservatove in betting strategy). I sit shortstop(next to last) and she sits third base. The only thing she's fuzzy on is splitting 2,3,6, and 7. She'll ask me. Surprising how quickly the two of us become the "experts" with people asking what to do. My usual answer is "The book says...".

[davecttr]

I like a game of mindless violence for small stakes, otherwise known as Caribbean Stud :)

 

even so with its simple strategy some players still manage to lose large sums of money, betting blind and raising a jack high seem popular :D

 

last year the dealer had a full house which was greeted with cries of disbelief. I did not mind as I had 4 sevens :D:D It was the third deal of the evening and the poor girl was immediately sent to the naughty corner :eek:

 

 

she was a demon at dealing herself blackjacks though :(

[KirkNC]

tried to post this before and did not work......

 

Everyone has to start somewhere. I meet some really nice people who helped me learn the game in Vegas.

 

What do you mean "follow the play recommendations" ?

 

You need to play by "the book". One reason I never play at the minimum tables is there are too many people who don't know how to play. I am not patient when their play cost me money.

 

Kirk

[bdklein]

I have a cheat sheet that I use for all in the card combinations. I always use it at non-cruise casinos (AC, Vegas, Detroit, Florida). Any idea if I can use it on the NCL Gem?

[windham depot]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I have been playing blackjack for a long time myself, I don't however think that makes me an expert. It is called gambling for a reason. More often then not I do pretty well when I play. I don;t blame another player for the way the cards come out. If I thought I was such an expert and was bothered by someone playing with little or no experience I would not sit at a $5.00 or $10.00 table. Maybe the people who think the cards are controlled by the last seated player should sit in that last seat and take controll of the cards. In my experince people who complain the loudest will not sit in the last position, they just need someon else to blame. If you want to go to the casino and play blackjack and don't have much experience or no experience go for it. It is your money and I would be happy to sit and play with you. Everyone has a first time they play. HAVE FUN WITH IT.

[davecttr]

Yes, have fun, it is entertainment and even more fun if you don't mind other players comments. I don't mind being the last player as I have more time to work out what play to make. I only play for small stakes and usually bring 30x the minimum bet to the table. I have lost over two thirds of this in a couple of hours but also won over two thirds so it balances out. Mostly the outcomes are somewhere near the the middle, win a little, lose a little. This is what I like about blackjack, enjoy yourself without high risk. It pays to learns basic strategy though and I practise about a thousand hands a week with the strategy tuned to the casino rules on the ships I use. European style, stand on soft 17, no surrender, double on split except aces, refuse insurance etc. The house advantage is 0.5% or less with these rules and maybe very slightly worse as I have the lazy habit of standing on 16 v 10.

 

Now roulette is different, I bring enough to the table for 40 straight up bets and play 8 times. Walking away when the money is gone is best plus if I reach double my existing stake in 8 plays I cash in. Two or three wins and you make a healthy profit.

[ready2travel54]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I have been playing blackjack for a long time myself, I don't however think that makes me an expert. It is called gambling for a reason. More often then not I do pretty well when I play. I don;t blame another player for the way the cards come out. If I thought I was such an expert and was bothered by someone playing with little or no experience I would not sit at a $5.00 or $10.00 table. Maybe the people who think the cards are controlled by the last seated player should sit in that last seat and take controll of the cards. In my experince people who complain the loudest will not sit in the last position, they just need someon else to blame. If you want to go to the casino and play blackjack and don't have much experience or no experience go for it. It is your money and I would be happy to sit and play with you. Everyone has a first time they play. HAVE FUN WITH IT.

Yah Life is too short to be grumpy about someone else's way they play. Ihope to have fun gambling.

[kchobbs]

They mean to follow "Basic Strategy" this gives you the best chance to win based on the expected outcome over thousands or millions of hands. It does not guarantee that you will win, but if you play by these rules you should not piss off too many "Expert Players".

 

Any expert player should know that what the others do at the table really has no bearing to what you do. I have seen this all the time and it is a topic of heated discussion. For every time that a player may do something against basic strategy, and it hurts everyone at the table, there will be an equal amount of times when he actually helps the table. Any book on blackjack i have read says that it is a myth about people screwing up a table because of lack of knowledge.

Best advice is to play basic strategy and not worry about what anyone else is doing. If you can not accept this, then play at a table by yourself.

[myra711]

Thanks for all the comments. I was in AC last weekend, and the dealer there was very nice about informing me of the advised moves. (Didn't help me any; still went bust :( )

 

Anyway, the main answer to my question seems to be $5 minimum, unless anyone has other info.

 

I hope you all win!

 

Sue